"It's a series about cutting-edge science and mislaid justice, race and policing, and the kinds of weighty choices that cops and prosecutors make every day," Wondery states in a release. Murder mystery continues nearly a year later: Redmond Police still have Everyone seemed to have a good time, the lawsuit alleges. After-the-fact contentions about inadmissible evidence are a little disingenuous, said Dreveskracht, Fairs attorney, who noted police at one point consulted with a psychic medium who attempted to contact Jinaga beyond the grave. Investigators said the lower half of the womans body was covered in motor oil. He also successfully represented himself in a legal claim for an injury he sustained from handcuffs, receiving a $25,000 settlement from King County in 2017. Fair spent six of the nearly nine years in jail, held by a seven-figure bond, isolated for 23 hours a day awaiting trial. Emanuel has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout this case and he, his family, and friends are greatly relieved that justice was served by his acquittal, defense attorney Benjamin Goldsmith wrote in an email Friday. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Alyndra Pandjipoetra 2018Dion Wiyoko,Rianti Cartwright,Laura Basuki,Jill Gladys,Sheila Dara Aisha,Junior Liem,Alyndra PandjipoetraSunshine ,SunshineSunshinemp4SunshineBT! According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. Arpana Jinaga, a 24 year old woman from India. Second trial in killing of Redmond woman ends with not-guilty verdict His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. Her removed tampon alone had three separate unidentified male DNA profiles on it, according to Rolling Stones investigation. To contaminate evidence, Jinagas hands had been doused in blue toilet-bowl cleaner and her body covered in motor oil. Fair was staying with his friend Leslie Potts on Oct. 31, 2008, in Valley View Apartments when he attended the party that Potts and other neighbors organized. His legal team expanded the lawsuit in late March, adding ten more pages of allegations and the prosecutor on the case and other detectives that handled the case to the list of defendants. She had it all going on, Coats said. Brian Coats, who led the investigation into Jinagas murder as a detective 13 years ago. Woman Found Dead in Park Charged with Murder, Honors Student, 17, Killed After Offering Teenagers a Ride: 'Thought He Was Doing the Right Thing', Cold Cases Heat Up: How Advances in DNA Technology Are Helping to Bring Justice for Victims, A Man Who Died by Suicide After Being Questioned About 1994 Murder Has Been Identified as the Alleged Killer, More Than 15 Years After Madeleine McCann's Disappearance, Questions Remain Unanswered: 5 Things to Know, Accident or Murder? Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. Then, due to inexcusable delays in Fairs trial and prolonged pretrial detention, he spent more than nine years in the King County Correctional Facility as an innocent man, in conditions of inhumane confinement that are well known to have a detrimental effect on mental health, the suit contends. According to the Rolling Stone report, most of the people at the party that night didnt remember Fairs name. At his second trial, a jury found him not guilty. Arpana Jinaga, a 24 year old woman from India. They also want him to be reimbursed for the attorney fees he incurred while fighting the charges. They found her nude body on her bedroom floor, face-down on the carpet and partially covered with cloth. The lawsuit also says Fair threw garbage in the dumpster where the robe and other items were found while helping with party clean up. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. He also heard a thud on the floor but figured she was alright when he heard water running shortly after the noise. The complaint alleges that police failed to properly secure and gather evidence. Most of the partygoers reportedly referred to the chocolate-skinned man as the Black guy in his police file. Family of Missing Black Woman, Last Seen Living with Man She Met on Craigslist, Frustrated By Lack of Response to Case: Were Not Trying to Annoy Anybody, Happened As a Result of Jealousy: New York Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Stabbing Black 16-Year-Old Boy In the Heart for Walking a Girl Home, I Wanted to be a Trailblazer: Zandra Flemister, the First Black Woman Hired as a Secret Service Agent, Enduring Years of Blatant Racism, Dies at 71. Fairs lawsuit contends the probable cause affidavit used to support the murder charge omitted multiple facts, including that several other mens DNA also was found on crime scene evidence and items found in the dumpster. His attorneys allege Fair was isolated as the main suspect for her murder because of his race and his past criminal record. Fair was staying with his friend Leslie Potts on Oct. 31, 2008, in Valley View Apartments when he attended the party that Potts and other neighbors organized. Fair filed a lawsuit against King County, Redmond, the Redmond Police Department and the lead detective on Dec. 29. The party ended between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., around the same time witnesses saw Jinaga going back to her apartment. Johnson said he heard moaning sounds coming from Jinagas apartment around 3 a.m., and he assumed she was having sex. Suspect premieres Aug. 17 on Wondery+ and Aug. 31 wherever podcasts are streamed. Court records show prosecutors did not believe they had enough evidence to charge Jinagas neighbor, who met Fair the night of the homicide. When Johnson found out Fair liked hip hop and wrote beats, Johnson invited him to his car to listen to some electronic music he had made. To contaminate evidence, Jinagas hands had been doused in blue toilet-bowl cleaner and her body covered in motor oil. But it seems Jinaga would quickly move on and return to enjoying the party. It was like the movies, coming down slow.. Host Matthew Shaer and and reporter Eric Benson go to the scene of the crime in an effort to discover if police identified the right suspect. He was staying with Potts in the mostly white neighborhood that weekend, and his attendance at the party was impromptu. When contacted by police, Leslie Potts falsely claimed that she was alone, even though Emanuel Fair was staying with her. The Murder of Arpana Jinaga, The Stickiest Heist In History - WVXU Detectives relied on her to help them find Jinagas missing phone and camera and consulted her about the potential of Fair as a suspect, the lawsuit says. Emanuel Fair's DNA was found on Jinagas neck, a piece of duct tape used to gag her, a piece of toilet paper or paper towel found at the crime scene, and was mixed with Jinagas blood on her bathrobe robe (left in the apartment complex trash bin). Jinagas neighbor, Johnson, was the prime suspect at first, as described in Fairs lawsuit documents. Jinaga showed Fair and other partygoers something on her computer on another occasion. Man Accused Of Killing Arpana Jinaga Freed After He's Held 9 Years With Fair was later seen leaving the apartment that night. DNA was found on a discarded bottle of motor oil (same bag as robe). Johnson engaged in a number of suspicious activities after the murder. Ben Goldsmith and Katharine Edwards advanced a straightforward theory about why Emanuel Fair should be acquitted in the murder of Arpana Jinaga, whose body was found in her Redmond apartment on Nov. 1, 2008. Witnesses said Neil Marshall, a partygoer, was sexually aggressive toward Jinaga on Halloween. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/after-nearly-11-years-and-two-trials-killing-of-redmond-woman-remains-unsolved/, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/woman-found-dead-in-redmond-was-slain-police-say/, https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/petitions/96468-8%20Petition%20for%20Review.pdf, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/emanuel-fair-trial-lawsuit-dna-murder-charge-1330251/, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59393415bebafb202cc26aba/t/5f0237f32005f03d23c6d73a/1593980918922/Defense-Motion-to-Compel-Source-Code.pdf. In August 2009, a man named Emanuel Fair was interviewed by police. It was just gruesome, he said. According to court documents, Johnson called Jinaga around 3 a.m. but did not mention that to the police during his interview. Jinagas naked body was discovered by a close friend and an immediate neighbor in her home on Nov. 1, 2008. As a man who was incarcerated and released but not convicted, Fair left jail without the support and resources typically offered to exonerated people or parolees, such as job support and mental health services. Potts, Jinaga and two others neighbors decorated and opened up their units to allow partygoers to go in and out freely. Fair is seeking damages for the emotional stress he faced from when police investigated him until he was released. Fair said the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, is the closest thing to justice I can get.. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. During the trials, the neighbor, whom prosecutors at one point granted immunity for information, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. She had a keen interest in engineering and won several innovation competitions. He scrubbed his phone right after the interrogation, the lawsuit says. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. Suspect Podcast on Amazon Music He appeared drunk and brought liquor. The lawsuit alleges that a lighter was found in his apartment with a sticky substance on it, but investigators never collected it. Arpana dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and her apartment was one of four areas in the complex. Contribute to Atlanta Black Star today and help us share our narratives. Residents said Fair appeared relaxed when he hung out at Potts apartment for three days over the weekend. There was potential there that was just taken away., Citing pending litigation, a city of Redmond spokesperson declined to comment about Fairs lawsuit on behalf of Coats and the citys Police Department. Jinagas father had asked a family friend to check in on her after she missed scheduled calls with family from India. Source. Jinaga had moved to the Pacific Northwest about six months ago. He joined the publication in 2021 on the crime beat. On Halloween 2008, Jinaga and several of her neighbors at the Valley View Apartments threw a large Halloween party, with guests moving between their units. Two days later, after Jinaga hadnt shown up to work or returned calls to her family in India, a family friend and Jinagas next-door neighbor found her door kicked in and her nude body on her bedroom floor. The lawsuit alleges there was heavy drinking at the party of 40 to 50 people. And thats hard.. Episode 213: Interview: Emanuel Fair, Found Not Guilty of Murder after Were they old friends? I dont think he killed Arpana. But as they worked through the evidence, jurors came to believe the state had not met its burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt, said the juror, a 35-year-old Bellevue software engineer who asked not to be named to protect his privacy, It was tough for us to vote not guilty because the family still doesnt know exactly who killed her, the juror said. The prosecutors office also provided an uncut hourlong recording of an interview of former Chief Deputy Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Erin Ehlert in 2020 for a true crime podcast called Suspect, which examined the case. His first trial, in 2017, ended in a hung jury because one juror said Fair looked like a thug with tattoos on his hands. The jury in the second trial acquitted him. After the party wound down, Jinaga was seen returning to her apartment about 3 a.m.; investigators believe she was killed at about 8 a.m. Nov. 1. Arpana Jinaga - Spreaker Ive been away for so long, I dont believe in holidays no more, he said. It was a party, Fair was all over her apartment like EVERYONE ELSE. Her apartment was decorated as a haunted forest, one of. After her graduation, she got a job as a software engineer at EMC, in a suburb of Seattle. It seems odd to me that the killer(s) would go to such extremes to cover up DNA on her body and in her apartment with the motor oil and toilet bowl cleaner and bleach etc. There was forced entry into Jinaga's second-story apartment, signs of trauma to Jinaga and the apartment was in disarray. The lawsuit alleges that the department hired famous psychic medium Allison DuBois to help with the investigation around the time Fair was identified as the main suspect. A spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office said in an email, we look forward to addressing these allegations in a public courtroom, and we are confident in our case.. He went on afterwards, he got his degree, hes never had a crime., Fair, who had only met the neighbor at the party that night, said prosecutors immunity deal was just another biased action taken to strengthen the case against him that backfired, because the neighbor didnt even implicate me, he implicated himself.. He helped set up and clean up, and had no wounds, no scratches or injuries. The prosecutors office also provided an uncut hourlong recording of an interview of former Chief Deputy Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Erin Ehlert in 2020 for a true crime podcast called Suspect, which examined the case. He assumed Jinaga was either vomiting or having sex. Jinaga, a 24-year-old software engineer from India, had attended Rutgers University, won an international software award and was a rising star at the Bellevue company where she worked. She died from ligature strangulation, a bootlace the suspected murder weapon. Fighting for justice: Two public defenders worked for years to get Around 2:30 am, Fair and Johnson went to Johnson's apartment and then down to Johnson's car to listen to music. Fair, a guest of another woman living in the building, met Jinaga and her neighbor that night. I am far from shady. Now working a security job and living with friends in Renton, he said hes often depressed, carries guilt for a younger brothers emotional troubles and avoids going out. The officers allegedly did not change gloves between evidence collections, or between rooms or locations. Emanuel, his family, and friends ask for privacy, as he works to rebuild his life, wrote Goldsmith. His lawyers said he suffers from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The neighbor invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Larson said. There were also other men in Jinagas life that detectives suspected of the murder, and some of their DNA was found at the crime scene. Some of the potential suspects were not interviewed. True. Jinaga's killer had clearly gone to great lengths to destroy any biological traces linking him to the crime scene. Coats ran a background check on the Fair and found the rape charge. The party started like many others. 'I'm Out, But I'm Not Free': Man Sues After Spending More Than Eight New true-crime podcast reexamines the unsolved murder of a Redmond Sign up to receive The Atlanta Black Star Newsletter in your inbox. Two days later on Monday, Jinagas father in India was worried that her daughter was not answering her phone, so he asked family friend Jay Bodicherla in the US to check up on her. It contends Fair was asleep at his friends apartment when Jinaga likely was attacked, and that he didnt attempt to leave the area: He helped clean up outdoor areas after the party and stayed with his friend at her apartment for two more days. Jinaga had been gagged, brutally beaten and most likely raped. Such remarks since his exoneration only demonstrate authorities defensiveness about mishandling the case, Fair said. Do we know he would have routinely passed her door going in and out of his apartment? His lawyers said the ordeal has permanently damaged Fairs reputation, his emotional well-being, livelihood and relationships. He used the bathroom on one occasion. Arpana and neighbors within the Valley View Apartment complex threw a large Halloween party. Potts covered for Fair because he had a warrant out for not updating his address with his parole officer. All the while, Fair, whose family was unable to foot his seven-figure bail, said he had faith he would one day walk away free from a charge alleging he murdered Arpana Jinaga, 24, in her Redmond apartment after a Halloween party in 2008. .but he doesnt mention it? Some guests were rowdy, but nothing out of the ordinary, it says. Man jailed for nine years sues King County, Redmond after acquittal in lt also points out that Jinagas neighbor quickly emerged as the lead suspect in the case as inconsistencies in his story began to surface.. lt also points out that Jinagas neighbor quickly emerged as the lead suspect in the case as inconsistencies in his story began to surface.. Unidentified male DNA was also found on a bruise on Jinagas wrist. She was a brilliant person. Jinagas phone and digital camera were missing from the scene and never recovered. Her fingers and nails were cleaned and then covered in toilet bowl cleaner, and there was a heavy scent of bleach throughout the house. Hes now struggling to reconstruct his life, Fair and his attorneys said. When questioned, Fair claimed he retired to Potts' apartment around 1:30am on the night of the party. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. I just want to be myself.. According to reports, Fair accepted a plea agreement in 2004 while still maintaining his innocence. He had bruises consistent with a sexual attack, tried to flee the country, and was researching pawn shops (which the police never really followed up onor seemingly got a real answer from him on why he was researchingpawn shops). Jinaga had been gagged with her underpants and duct tape, brutally beaten around the head. Brian Bundridge was in a motorcycle club with Jinaga. Fairs DNA was found on Jinagas robe and a roll of duct tape that was likely used to tape her underwear inside her mouth like a gag. Another apartment complex resident committed suicide just days after Jinagas death, and his DNA was reportedly never compared to the crime scene. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Larson, the chief criminal deputy prosecutor, noted Fairs DNA was found on Jinagas neck, a piece of duct tape used to gag her, a piece of toilet paper or paper towel found at the crime scene, and was mixed with Jinagas blood on a robe found in the apartment buildings trash bin. Fairs lawsuit includes many of the same facts that his public defender, Ben Goldsmith, used to poke holes in the prosecutions criminal case. Suspect Might Be the Best True-Crime Podcast of the Year - Vulture https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/petitions/96468-8%20Answer%20to%20petition.pdf. Fair was released in 2019, serving a total of 9 years without conviction, and is now suing the county authorities. He was read his rights. Her removed tampon alone had three separate unidentified male DNA profiles on it, according to Rolling Stones investigation. Arpana Jinaga Unresolved DNA from the neighbor was found on a motor oil bottle, and from another man who wasnt at the party on a bootlace likely used to strangle Jinaga. More than a dozen people passed through Jinaga's apartment that night. Residents said Fair appeared relaxed when he hung out at Potts apartment for three days over the weekend. Police found that he had Googled pawn shops near the border. The lawsuit alleges there was heavy drinking at the party of 40 to 50 people. Convicted sex offender charged in brutal 2008 Redmond homicide The man was the last person to call her the night she was killed, he tried to destroy evidence of the calls, and he attempted to go to Canada after the homicide but was turned away, he said. Fair ultimately was charged based on trace DNA evidence found on Jinagas neck; a piece of duct tape used to gag her; paper found in the apartment; and mixed with Jinagas blood on a robe recovered from the apartment buildings dumpster. Fair also used Jinaga's bathroom. Not sure if there would be any visible damages. The county, police department and Coats filed a response to Fairs initial complaint refuting the claims. Cameron should have been the #1 suspect. To get in one of those cheap hollow core doors (if thats what the apartment had) by kicking, you dont need to kick a hole through, just knock it out of the lock. Police went to Jinaga's apartment after they were contacted by her friend, Redmond police spokesman Jim Bove said, adding police are investigating the death as a homicide. He also drove to Canada the day of the murder and attempted to cross the border without a passport. Jinaga and other tenants he hadnt met were co-hosting a large Halloween party in several units. Fairs attorneys contend that some of the DNA evidence was not an exact match. Jinaga, an outgoing Rutgers University grad, had moved to Redmond six months earlier to work as a software engineer at a Bellevue firm. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. As her next-door neighbor this would have been obvious. Court files said there were also burn marks from an attempt to set the body or apartment on fire. We were limited in the way we were able to argue the case and we have to live with that We try cases and we accept we have to prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt.